


Tell Me We're Alright, Tell Me We're Okay

by ExhoLox



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apathy!Roman, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is a Dark Side, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Post-Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides, References to Depression, tw food mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24718096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExhoLox/pseuds/ExhoLox
Summary: Ever since Roman had transformed into Apathy all the sides had made their attempts at trying to comfort Roman and help him go back to his lovable princey self for Thomas’s, theirs, and his own sake.Apathy!Roman created by @caffeinated-cryptid
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 6
Kudos: 157





	Tell Me We're Alright, Tell Me We're Okay

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for the sides so if this is garbage please excuse me. Also if see any more TWs that need to be added please let me know.  
> Also if you want more Apathy!Roman content I highly encourage you to check out @caffeinated-cryptid on tumblr. They have a lot more content for the boy and this fic references a lot of it.  
> Bonus points for guessing where the title's from.

1\. Logan

“And I must say it is very fascinating how books have taught us how we should behave in society. When you boil it down a book is just a collection of thoughts and ideas written down on paper. But the message inside those books that make us question ourselves and the world around us is what makes them valuable.”

To say that this conversation was extremely one sided would be a tremendous oversight.

Ever since Roman had transformed into Apathy all the sides had made their attempts at trying to comfort Roman and help him go back to his lovable princey self for Thomas’s, theirs, and his own sake. Logan had opted to try researching topics Roman used to be very passionate about in hope that he would at least be willing to engage in a short dialogue with him. 

He had done research on a variety of topics, from great literary classics, the evolution of theater, and the philosophy surrounding some works of art in order to make sure the conversation would be appealing to Roman. If he had to confess he did find more respect for Roman’s creative pursuits after learning so much about a world he otherwise would never thought he’d willingly try to understand. Perhaps maybe after Roman got back to his regular self they could actually have thoughtful discussions about their passions and come to understand each other a bit more.

Of course Logan knew it would be a while before that happened. This wasn’t just a phase Roman was going through. There would have to be a lot of work done mental health wise in order for things to not just go back to normal but to become better in the famILY, but Logan was willing to work towards that.

“The fact that people still debate and ponder over the lessons from books way before the 21st century is a testament to how we can still learn from these-”

Logan glanced over to the couch Roman was sitting on...only to find no one there. Honestly, he didn’t know what to expect. He was used to being shut down when going on tangents but to have someone just...leave?

Logan signed, while Logan was willing to work towards returning things back to normal, it would take a lot more work to convince Roman to do the same.

______________________________________________________________

2\. Patton

Patton loved what cooking could do.

You could say it lied in his fatherly instincts to protect and love the other members of his famILY but honestly it lied more so in how each side could find solace in it.

Virgil loved the calmness of it and how it distracted him from the constant worries that plagued his mind. Logan enjoyed the scientific outlook on it and the careful planning and detail that went into more complicated dishes. Janus liked the self-care aspect of making something for yourself and focusing on you, and while Patton didn’t cook with Remus often (in fact he mostly avoided it) he did know Remus loved to get experimental with recipes and shake things up, for the better and (mostly) worst. 

So when Roman came in the kitchen to get something to eat Patton immediately dragged him away from the bag of string cheese he was about to eat and into the kitchen so they could make cookies. Roman loved the expressiveness he could put into decorating, and while currently it seemed like half the time Roman wasn’t even in the mood to breathe, Patton was sure it would go perfectly and both of them could have a bonding moment. And bonding moments mostly led to happiness so maybe Roman would actually feel something for once!

Only it didn’t go exactly as planned.

Patton had left Roman to shape the dough into cookies so he could go look for the icing and sprinkles only to come back and find Roman with two fistfuls of cookie dough in each hand and some in his mouth.

Patton laughed nervously, “Uh kiddo, don’t you wanna bake them before you eat em’? Y’know so we could decorate them together and make it more...fun?”

Roman just shrugged and took another bite of the cookie dough, “What’s the point. The dough is just as if not more good than the cookies. Plus that just means more work.”

“But it’s supposed to be a bonding-” Patton paused. He needed to be more accommodating. Roman was different now and sure things would hopefully go back to normal, they wouldn’t just yet. 

“Y’know what kiddo? That’s fair.”

______________________________________________________________

3\. Remus

“Okay so that’s five now.”

Remus wasn’t ashamed to admit he liked the change in Roman. For once in a lifetime Ro-Ro wasn’t trying to get away from him or actively dismissing him as “the bad-twin”. He could get all of the attention and time he craved because Roman was there! Roman understood him better than anyone else! How could he not. Both of them had made sure they knew key aspects of the other in order to know what not to do. The brothers saw how the other sides hated Remus’s creative outputs and encouraged Roman’s and this fueled their respective needs to maintain their place and receive the attention they desired.

But now that entire thing was shattered. How could there be a “bad one” when the “good one” doesn’t care enough about being socially acceptable or doing supposedly noble deeds that needed to be carried out by some fairy tale prince? How can there be a “good one” when the bad is the only thing that’s there? Roman had finally stopped caring about how others viewed his image like Remus had long ago and it was great!

And that wasn’t even the best part! Now Remus could seek out attention at mostly any given time. As long Roman wasn’t taking a ride to Sleepytime Junction and the task at hand wasn’t too strenuous, Remus was free to drag Roman along with him wherever he liked! And while the others were previously not very inclined to the sharing of Remus’s creative ventures they encouraged it now because maybe Remus could help Roman express something if he threw enough crazy and downright disturbing stuff at him. 

“You know Roman, if you told me years before now that you, Roman Sanders, the “Good Twin”, most pristine and well-kept prince of them all would be letting I, your most hated enemy and menace stack squids atop of you like they’re building blocks, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“...Okay.”

Ah but everything had its downsides.

Like how Roman would tag along but wouldn’t care. How he would say “yes” to most of Remus’s plans not to enjoy them but instead because he had nothing better to do. Even when Remus wasn’t being disgusting and actually tried to jog Roman’s passions up nothing was really happening. In fact, as time went by, Remus began to notice how boring Roman had become and how he missed his over the top reactions because at least they were fun. And sure, he wasn’t completely hated by his brother from what he could tell, but that was only because Roman didn’t have the energy to love or hate most things anymore. 

So maybe things weren’t as good as Remus would have liked to believe and the situation was actually more dire than he initially thought.

“Why does it smell like sea- Remus what are you doing to Roman.”

So although this was a dire situation that did not mean the other sides’ reactions to the twins’ shenanigans would stop being any less funny.

______________________________________________________________

4\. Virgil

Out of all them, Virgil was the best at having conversations with Roman that would last longer than five minutes and had some substance.

Because while the others could only speculate what Roman was feeling through his behavior and the small snippets of feelings Roman would occasionally let out, Virgil knew. And that’s why he didn’t push Roman to go back to the way things were through reconnecting him with activities he used to love. He had his own special way.

Everyday, no matter what time, Virgil would find time to talk to Roman and just relax. He didn’t talk about the way things used to be or what Roman could do to get better, he just let Roman know he was there for him. He knew what was going through Roman’s head. He was putting on a persona that would shield him from his own feelings. A shield that would help him ignore the self-hatred brewing inside of him. A shield that Roman thought everyone would prefer over one that was boisterous, rude, and demanded to be the center of attention.

And Virgil knew this because he had gone through something similar and understood the current mindset Roman had. He knew which direction to go in in order to get one step closer to Roman finally accepting and being happy with himself.

But for now Virgil knew what his job was. To listen and let Roman know that he still had his famILY with him no matter what changes he went through.

_____________________________________________________________

5\. Janus

Janus didn’t even know what to do. 

Out of all the possible outcomes he never expected...this. 

He was happy that he was able to argue his case and work towards leading Thomas to a path that would help benefit his mental health, but he knew that this predicament had practically rendered that endeavor useless. Thomas’s mental health could only be benefited by everyone working together and with Roman in his current state that would be next to impossible.

It was troubling to see Roman so unmotivated. After the argument he knew Roman wasn’t exactly feeling the best, but he never expected him to fall into this borderline depressive state. Roman just spent his time sleeping in random and/or dangerous places. Seriously, Janus couldn’t even count the amount of times he or one of the others had tripped over an inconveniently placed Roman rug that decided to plop right in the middle of the hallway. And when he wasn’t sleeping for hours on end he would just spend his time talking to Virgil for a while or just being weirdly cryptid. 

All of the sides had noticed The Stare that Roman would give Janus whenever he was in the room. It wasn’t one of malice or even anger, in fact like most of Roman’s actions it lacked emotion. Janus was guessing that it was the apathetic version of a “I don’t want to cause a fuss but I will not shy away from letting you know I am very upset.” glare. But Roman had told him that he simply could not care enough to hate him at this point and that trying to fix things would be useless because nothing mattered anyway. 

So while it was very clear to Janus that Roman would not appreciate any smidge of mushy family stuff that didn’t mean he didn’t help in his own way.

Janus, Logan, and Patton were the sole reason why Roman wasn’t eating raw cookie dough or string cheese at one a.m in the morning. He was also the one that was making sure the other sides weren’t putting too much pressure on themselves. Patton and Virgil especially needed to be reminded that it was okay if they needed to take a break and not being there for Roman didn’t mean that there was no one there for him at all. He also reassured Roman that he was cared for as well. There had been times when Roman was just confused and was wondering why the others even put up with him and every time Janus was there to remind Roman that he was loved and always would be even if he couldn’t understand that right now.

_____________________________________________________________

Bonus: Roman

Movie nights were still a hit or miss thing for him. Being surrounded by blankets while the T.V acts as background noise was prime sleeping material, but sometimes it was too much. He would notice the others glancing quickly at him like they were trying to study some type of easily startled creature. It made him feel like all eyes were on him, a feeling he used to bask in but distressed and tired him now. 

Lately though, it was better. 

Everything just felt peaceful, calm, and quiet. But most importantly he felt safe and cared for. While he still didn’t quite understand it he appreciated that the others were sticking by him and helping him sort through this mess. He wasn’t getting too overwhelmed by just the concept of him having emotions and having to deal with them. And were there still bad days? Of course. But what was important was that he was working on managing those bad days and embracing the sheer peace and absence of worry in the good days.

And yeah, he knew the sides desperately wanted things to go back to the way things were, but they weren’t pushing him. They were all learning how they could help Roman in their own way while also giving him the time to grow. And maybe with just a little more patience there would be a happily ever after for him in the future.

And if Roman let himself smile a little bit at this notion perhaps that fairytale ending would be soon.


End file.
